Autumn Light

Extraordinary -- Autumn's Maxfield Parrish skies and the way the greens and golds gather the light to them.

Miss Suzie Hutchins knows how to appreciate these perfect days.

The early sun gilds the leaves and sets alight the last few flowers of the crepe myrtle . . .

. . . and the leaves begin to turn.

JACKASS DU JOUR

You’re looking at northbound traffic on Georgia Route 400 yesterday afternoon. [In case you’re wondering, the Mistress of Sarcasm was driving while I took the picture.]

The Jackass du Jour is the driver of the blue Integra on the left. He (or she) earned the title by virtue of his (or her) amazing tailgating skills, skills which are not fully evident in this photograph.

That blue Integra first got our attention when we were entering 400 from Holcomb Bridge Road. Take a closer look - click to embiggen if necessary - and you will see that there is apparently no driver.

We never did figure out who or what was piloting that car. A child? A Little Person? A shrunken head on a stick? Who- or whatever it was, we were at a loss to understand how he, she, or it could see over the dashboard.

Weird, huh?

Ask When

I was driving home from work the other day,
and I just had to stop and pull over.
To photo graph the sky.

In Texas, the sky goes on forever sometimes.
And the view can be magnificent.

If you go to Ask.com and type in the word "When,"
these are the top 8 phrases people search for starting with that word:

1. When will the World end?

2. When does Twilight come out on DVD?

3. When will I get my stimulus check?

4. When is the best time to get pregnant?

5. When is the world going to end?

6. When is my due date?

7. When do women ovulate?

8. When do I ovulate?

There is something totally hilarious about being worried about when the world will end...
and when Twilight will come out being the top two.

Ironic?
Or scary?

The Birth of Venus

For those of you who enjoy historical fiction, here's a goodie. I bought it about four years ago and only just now got around to reading it.

Set in Renaissance Florence, it's the story of a young woman of good family who wants to be an artist -- in a time when marriage or the convent were her only choices. The book paints a vivid picture of the beauty and the squalor and the political turmoil at his time when the monk Savonarola and his Taliban-like cohorts scourged the city, seeking to destroy much of the art and learning that had been the Medici heritage and glory.

Alessandra's story is at the center of all of this. A strong, passionate woman, at a time women were not expected to be either, she is a worthy heroine.

Great setting, fascinating characters, intriguing story line (a bit of a mystery to it) -- and you learn a little history in the bargain.

I loved it!

And one more thing: Always proofread your emails.

A few days ago, I sent an email to one of my students about our class work. I had just realized that he was married to a woman I know slightly and I wanted to say 'hi' to her.

What I typed was: "Tell Danny I said 'ho'!

Thank goodness I didn't hit SEND before I caught it. I would have had some explaining to do.

AT WORK WITH THE MISTRESS

The Gold Museum in Dahlonega.

Yesterday evening, the Mistress invited me to join her at a college recruitment fair in North Georgia. “Why not?” I thought. It would give me a chance to see her performing in her new gig, as well as providing a couple of hours of Father-Daughter Bonding Time in the car together.

It was time well spent. We arrived at our destination early, the better to reconnoiter... which gave us time to wander the town square and grab a snack.

We got to the fair location a half-hour early, plenty of time to get set up. And then, slowly at first but in an ever-increasing stream, came the students.

I watched from a distance as the Mistress informed, charmed, and cajoled. It was a beautiful thing to see. Several colleges had sent representatives to this event, but it was to the Mistress’s table the prospective candidates flocked, each one leaving with an armful of literature and some new ideas on where to get a focused Higher Education.

I’ve seen the Mistress function in her workplace before, but this was different. A real Salaried Job. And she was professional and personable every step of the way.

Can you tell I’m a Proud Daddy? Of course you can. But if I take a step back and try to look at things as a disinterested party, I still come to the same conclusion: My little girl is awesome.

And not just because she can sing along with me to Fishbone’s ska-punk tunes.

My Office Photos - revealed

Here are the answers:

A Koosh Ball!!

Aliens.
(everyone has these on their desk, right?!)

My phone cord

A stapler.
way too easy, I know.

A wrist pad, mouse pad and mouse.

The last photo is missing...but it was a hanging basket for files and papers.

ANOTHER ONE, OVER AND DONE WITH

Another Yom Kippur has come and gone. Over and done with... for a year, anyway. That gives us plenty of time to accumulate another pile of sins for which to atone.

[I don’t give a crap about Glenn Beck’s attempt to designate the day as a National Day of Fasting and Prayer. For us Jews, Yom Kippur is always a day of fasting and prayer. Anyone else who wants to join the fun, you’re welcome to it.]

The day went by quickly, as befits a Fast Day. It began early, as the Missus and I arrived at shul shortly after 7 a.m. in order to queue up and be among the first into the sanctuary when the doors opened at 7:30... the whole point being to score good seats. Sure, we could cough up a few hundred simoleons for reserved seats, but it’s more fun to schmooze with the gang of Semi-Regular Attendees as we wait in line.

Morning services proper started at 8:30 a.m. Jewish Daylight Time - in other words, at about 8:35 - and continued until sometime around 2:00 p.m. Included therein was a thoroughly depressing sermon having to do with the fact that all of us, eventually, will manage to find our way into a hole in the ground. The point, I suppose, was to remind us that no matter what our status, wealth, or fame, we all end up in the same place. There also might have been something to the effect of “make hay while the sun shines,” but by this time half the congregation was wondering whether it would be a violation of halakha - Jewish law - to cut their throats right there during the service. [Just kidding, Rabbi.]

A few days earlier, several of us had set up a betting pool, with the winner providing the closest prediction of the length of the sermon. Irwin the Paintner won, having picked 35 minutes.

At several points in the festivities, we recite Ashamnu and Al Cheit - lengthy litanies of sins that we may have committed during the past year, either individually or as part of our community. As we mention each Bad Deed, we give ourselves a klop - beat our breasts - as a symbolic declaration of guilt. Given that each confessional prayer is recited a total of ten times during the course of the holiday, that’s about 770 smacks on the breast all told... enough klopping to give a person Kloppal Tunnel Syndrome.

Services resumed at 5:30 in the afternoon, and the Missus and I were there to assist in the Torah service. We did not, however, stick around for the Bitter End, having had plans to join friends for a break-fast meal. I managed to stick it out for 26 hours, though, so that’s no small beer.

I broke my fast with a healthy belt of Glenlivet 12-year-old single malt and a chunk of SWMBO’s Apricot Kugel. Aaaahh. Nothing improves the taste of food more than doing without it for a day... and if it’s delicious in the first place, why, so much the better.

Now our spiritual focus begins to shift from penitence to joy, with the impending arrival of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. And Fall is most definitely in the air. Today we awoke to a beautiful, blue-sky morning with temperatures in the lower 50’s.

If that’s not a sign that the Big Guy answers prayers, what is?

Morning's Glory

Oh, Lord, what a morning!

Click on the pictures to 'biggify.'

Who needs words with skies like these?

Office Mystery Photos

I took my camera to work...
and took photos around the office.

Can you guess what they are?

Some of bizarre...

and some obvious...or are they?!

Give me your best guess!!

It's fun to try!!

And fun to read what everyone else guesses!!!

Creative answers that make me laugh get bonus points!!

The Heavenly Flocks

Sunday morning and what a pleasure to see blue skies above the mist rising from the river!

Those skies were a delight and wonder all day long with their great flocks of fluffy white clouds sweeping overhead, crowding and jostling together as they moved ever eastward.

The clarity of the atmosphere and the pure Carolina blue of the sky were intensified by the seemingly endless ranks of billowy clouds.

By evening though, like good sheep, they were gathered into the rosy fold beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Leaving the heavenly field clear for dreams.

The Doodles of Google

Did you notice that Google has two "L"s today?

Do you know why?

Google is celebrating it's 11th Birthday!!

Happy Birthday, Google!!

Have you noticed the different Google Doodles over the years to celebrate different themes?

Have you ever visited Blackle?

They are so creative and awesome.

Google Doodle artist Dennis Hwang is responsible for most of them.

Do you have a favorite?

I doodle.
I don't get paid for it though.

I Google too.
and don't get paid for that either.

Darnit.